The Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Program is nurturing a new generation of serious and enterprising journalists. This prestigious, year-long program allows writers early in their careers to pursue projects they otherwise would be unable to research and report. There are three tiers to the program: Fellowships provide up to $35,000 in grant money and expense assistance. Full Fellowships, which require that recipients devote their full-time efforts to their project, provide up to $75,000. Alumni Fund Fellowships, supported by donations from Novak Fellows past and present, provide support for recipients to write one in-depth, major essay on their topic.
Newly selected Novak Fellowship recipients are announced each year at the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Awards Dinner. More than 200 prominent journalists and guests attend this annual event to celebrate the best in American journalism. Proceeds from the evening support the Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowship and the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship programs.
The evening also honors annual recipients of the Thomas L. Phillips Career Achievement Award, and the Kenneth Y. Tomlinson Award for Outstanding Journalism.
Robert Novak’s Legacy
American journalist Robert Novak provided the inspiration for this program in 1994 as a way to nurture a new generation of responsible journalists. The program was renamed in Mr. Novak’s honor following his passing in 2009. Today, the Novak Program has awarded 141 fellowships to promising young journalists who are climbing the ranks as groundbreaking reporters, editors, editorial page writers, columnists and authors.
As a young journalist, I was thrilled when I got a job as a researcher for a New York Times op-ed columnist. But I worried about finding the time and energy to do my own research, reporting and writing. A part-time Novak Journalism Fellowship provided the motivation – and resources – for me to keep working under my own byline while I labored behind the scenes at the Times.”
– Katherine Mangu-Ward, Novak ’05
Editor-in-Chief of Reason
Novak Fellows include Steve Hayes ’94, Novak 00, of Fox News, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Novak 05, of Reason, Mollie Hemingway, Novak 04, of Fox News and The Federalist and Tim Carney, Novak 03, of the Washington Examiner.